Month: August 2015

After Little Mysteries closed last August we were all at a bit of a loss for supplies in the local HRM area and turned to the internet. Well, now there is no need! The Neighborhood Witch store will be opening September 9th, 2015 for all our crafty needs. You can read more about Pamela McInnis’ new venture in the following links.

A couple weekends age our Grove attended a festival and hosted the Closing Ritual for all the festival goers. It was an honour and we were happy to put our well versed Rituals into the public eye. As with all things, we wanted to make a nice display of our altar and I thought it may be nice to share…

It can be challenging to find altar layouts and especially hard to find them with pictures. This layout is based one the ADF Druid 1.1.1 Documents and has been our standard for some time. Almost every item on the table has a very specific purpose and is called for at the beginning of each Ritual in the Setup.

Enjoy!

Tip: Click on the image to make it bigger 🙂

Oats: Offering to the Outdwellers

Grains: Offering to the Nature Spirits

Horn: For the Hallowing of the Blessing

Spirits: Offering to Deity of the occasion and another for Hallowing of the Blessing

Bell: Ritual Charm

Fire: Fire Representation to be placed toward the East with Oil offering for Cosmos

Sage: For smudging

Incense: Atmosphere

Tobacco: Offering to the Ancestors

Tree: Tree Representation to be places toward the North

Herbs:Tree offering for Cosmos

Well: Well Representation to be placed toward the West; used for saining, and Silver offering for Cosmos

A couple weeks ago before the Grove attended AEGIS we were informed that no one had offered to do the Closing Ritual.

Thinking it couldn’t be that hard to write something and find sources we volunteered and began the arduous process of looking around for ideas…. Everyone had something to contribute but we would have to make it ADF format AND we wanted it to be interactive for the guests. After two weeks of not finding anything at all online or from the other Groves and Groups we decided to go out on a limb and throw something together.

Let me tell you… we had a ball. It all went off without a hitch and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.

We handed out copies of the Processional Chant, We Approach the Sacred Grove and had everyone sing along while we purified the space and guests. In the end (you wont see this in the written document) we closed a circle that had been left open by the Opening Ritual. Although circle casting is not a Druid tradition we felt it was a nice tie back and gave everyone a sense of completion and closure.

Let me elaborate a little more on that so you can get the experience…. Day one of the festival the wonderful Mave led an eclectic opening ritual and had everyone hold hands. From there, everyone turned to the person on their left and with hands clasped touched from heart to heart while saying “From my heart to your heart, the circle is open”. At the end of her Ritual she explained that she would leave the circle open to promote the full experience of the weekend retreat. It was a nice touch.

To make it easier for you at home and hopefully for others who find themselves in similar boats we decided to post our ritual (formatted to Grove and ADF standards).

We were fortunate this Lughnasadh in that most of the Grove was able to make the trip down to the beautiful Annapolis Valley to celebrate together, as a family and as part of a larger community, at the annual AEGIS Pagan Festival & Spiritual Retreat.

This year’s festival theme was “The Wild Hunt”, which was reflected in the activities, feasts, and rituals. The GNSD was well-represented throughout the festival, participating in numerous rituals, stepping up to perform a number of volunteer duties, engaging in many a conversation, and taking home three “Golden Pine Cone Awards”.